The word utopia comes from the Greek work eutopia, literally meaning: the good place that is no place. Why does the human race seem obsessed with creating alternate realities? Is it because the world we live in is so terrible that we crave a more beautiful peaceful world? Or are we just trying desperately to control something, anything at all?
The recent movie, Avatar, shows humans taking over the planet in search of "unobtainium", the very name of which suggests that it cannot be obtained. That actual term is used in science to denote a material that is extremely rare, costly, or physically impossible to make. Yet, in the movie the military is willing to wipe out an entire native civilization for it.
Today we have hundreds of virtual worlds: Sims, World of Warcraft, Toontown, Second Life, Active Worlds, TowerChat, Dreamyville, Whyville, Traveler, The Palace, and many many more. In some of them you go on an amazing adventure in an exotic land, while in others you create a family and go to work and buy a dog; in short, you can become whoever you want to be. Excuse me? Come back to the real world. Sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end, lost in a fictional world made up by a computer program will not solve your problems. Or the world's problems.
Harriet Beecher Stowe did not just imagine a life without slavery; she wrote a book on the reality in an effort to make changes. Instead of drowning our issues in video games and virtual reality simulations, don't you think we would reach a better world through service and awareness and by facing reality head on?
Hey Kristi!
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog post! You know, I totally agree with your points! I think that so much joy can be found in life! Just stop and smell the roses ya? There are skills to be learned and people to meet! The list of things to do just goes on and on and on! Thanks for taking such a strong stand on this.
However, in Honors 202, there was a point brought up, which is that a lot of lessons can be learned through these computer games, like innovation, teamwork, and creativity. What do you think of that? Are there other ways we can learn those skills? And, if computers are becoming so involved in the world, couldn't we learn something from these online games? Maybe it's like blogging, just through avatars. what do you think?
Love your post! Can't wait to read more!
I absolutely agree that we can learn things from computers and online games, but I don't hold those things equal to interpersonal skills we learn face to face. I am all for learning from every possible source, including the internet and video games, but I want to carefully watch how those affect my priorities. Thanks for the comment Jeff.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to point out because I was mad that Avatar made this point all muddled up... Along with other muddled up points... It was not "the military" but a highly organized and paid mercenary group - many whom were previous military. With all the "good" Hollywood does for our blessed union I think that vilifying our military is a franchise used up by Vietnam.
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